I won’t be posting the recipe for this unless requested, because it was definitely more work for one meal than I would like, but it was definitely worth it. Well, that might depend on who you ask.

This is a clean meal of roast beef, smashed red-skinned potatoes, peas, and a miso gravy.

The roast beef was good, although the rest of the family thought it was far too “alive” for their palate. The smashed potatoes were quite enjoyable, which was a little surprising. Instead of using milk and butter, I added non-fat plain Greek yogurt and some freshly squeezed lemon juice, which presented a pleasing yet different taste experience. I liked the potatoes. Mr. Potato Head Sam would not even deign to taste them, because the skin was left on the potatoes. The miso gravy was definitely different. My gravy-loving Casey did not like it. I don’t think gravy-obsessed Abby enjoyed it either. My opinion was that it was different. Not bad, just different. I could make it again, but maybe I would use a bit less miso.

Fussy kids aside, it was an enjoyable, tasty meal. Best of all, it was clean! Very little fat. No white flour. Very little sugars, and mostly natural. Portion sizes were satisfying. In fact, I used half the portion size of gravy, and I still had more than enough on my plate.

The first picture is yogurt cheese. I know! What the heck is yogurt cheese? It is simply low-fat, plain yogurt that has been strained overnight until all the excess liquid has drained out. What is left is yogurt cheese, and it can be used in many ways.

The second photo is a slice of meatloaf that I made for dinner tonight, but this is no ordinary meatloaf. It is a Clean Eating meatloaf, made with ground turkey, extra-lean ground beef, brown rice, and yogurt cheese! I generally need to be in the mood for meatloaf, but this was very tasty. Good thing, since I have a second loaf now sitting in my freezer!

One of my goals for 2012 is to move toward a Clean Eating lifestyle, which means a few changes to the way we eat. No more refined white sugar or flour. More whole grains. Nothing fried, battered, or laden with lots of fat, salt or sugar. No artificial sweeteners, flavourings, or preservatives. Lots of fruit and vegetables and water. Lean protein. Small, more frequent meals. Healthy fats. In a nutshell, eating food as close to natural as possible.

The yogurt cheese and meatloaf are recipes from my new Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. I’ve got a lot of recipes flagged already. Can’t wait to try them all!